Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion

[Cannabliss89]

I do agree with some of the things people are saying, I think you should keep the Sun Series to give people another less expensive light option. But I think the new Pro series has some potential, I don't think all those features are useless. Yea the Temp/Humidity sensor isn't in the most ideal place but you could compare that number to your canopy temp and get a good average temp of the two. The remote also cuts out the need for a timer, although most people will want one for their fans anyways. The thing that actually interests me is the programmability of the light. The fact that you can control the intensity of the light and the ratio of red to blue could be very useful during a grow. Anything that saves me money is useful. With this light you could start your seedlings or clones at 10% light intensity and gradually work your way up as it grew, this would be a lot cheaper than running a full power light at a higher distance. You can also program the light to better mimic the sun, like CO Finest is doing, you could have the light start out at 20% (like sunrise), work up to 100% (midday), then back down to 20% (sunset). If we could do that and get the same results as a full power mars light then it would save a lot of money in electricity costs. Of course we would need a side by side comparison to see if the less intense light resulted in less potency or yield, that would be interesting to see. And with the spectrums, we could give it more blue during veg and then give it a boost of red in flowering. The options are endless, I'm sure different people will try different ratios during different phases of growth. I'm just tryin to say it has potential. I probably wouldn't recommend it for first time growers because more things could go wrong, but for those with the knowledge and the money I imagine it would be cool. I'm not very experienced and don't have money like that so it's not for me, but I'm still really interested to see the results people have and what settings they use to achieve those results.

 

[randy355]

I agree with UncleCannabis here Sara. I originally applied to be a tester of the Sun Series as I liked the look of what I saw and I thought that it would be along the same pricing range as your Mars II series. If I had known that they were available at $360 I would have just bought a couple (there wasn't even a pricing option for the UK just a "coming soon" ). I've been watching UncleCannabis' grow with interest and have been waiting patiently for their release.
Now the new light is being released and I'm underwhelmed with both the features and the price point, you could be missing some sales here. I've been very impressed with the Mars II series, not so much so with the Reflectors although I know that a lot of other people love theirs. To me the Sun Series would have filled that gap and I could have done away with my Reflectors on their release but I just can't justify the outlay prices for the new Pro Series. I'm sure some people will, but around $1000 buys me two more Mars II rather than one new light with a remote control.
Maybe you could consider bringing the Sun Series back (if they're at $360 you could just take my money NOW ) for the people that want to buy in at a more reasonable price range and keep the Mars Pro series for those that need/want the extra features and are prepared to spend more. This way you keep customers like me that want to try a decent LED that works for a great price as well as expanding your sales base to the premium users.

I wish you all the best whichever choices you make with your business, but please don't let the idea of making the light that can do everything detract from the fact that there are still a lot of people that want a good solid basic product for not too much of an initial cost. Seriously, if you have any of the Sun Series lying around send them my way, at $360 apiece you have my attention. All the best

I have to agree with questioning the cancellation of the Sun Series many of us who will be adding these lights to existing grows would prefer a non remote controlled light. If it is to simplify production than perhaps a bare bone version of the new lights is in order or develop the Sun Series with different sizes as a eventual replacement of the Mars 2 series but you need a simple series of new lights going forward or risk losing part of your existing customer base.
Uncle Cannabis was correct in his assessment of the video on the Sun lights it left more questions than answers and myself I purchased two of the 900 watt Mars 2 instead of the Sun lights. The other fact that shut down sales of the Sun series was the announcement of a Cree based light was waved in front of us earlier than perhaps it should have been either way there needs to be a alternative to the feature loaded Pro Lights for those of us who like simple not complex.
The last thing I want or need in my life is another remote control

 

[Neil74]

Hi I just purchased 2 MarsHydro 600 watt lights on Amazon. I found this site while researching and have so far read through 800 pa
ges of the so far 1089 pages here. I haven't come across any one using the lights I purchased, are the ones on Amazon real MarsHydro? My 600 watt Lights have one fan hole on the back and 120 5wattleds. I will continue reading in search, just wondering if anyone has experience with these particular lights? Thanks in advance this is one extremely helpful site. Neil74

 

[randy355]

Hi I just purchased 2 MarsHydro 600 watt lights on Amazon. I found this site while researching and have so far read through 800 pa
ges of the so far 1089 pages here. I haven't come across any one using the lights I purchased, are the ones on Amazon real MarsHydro? My 600 watt Lights have one fan hole on the back and 120 5wattleds. I will continue reading in search, just wondering if anyone has experience with these particular lights? Thanks in advance this is one extremely helpful site. Neil74

Yes they are Mars Hydro lights, those were built to compete with the discount lights of other manufactures and while perhaps not up to par with the Mars 2 lights are quite good for the money I use the 60 x 5 and am vary happy with it. You will find several posts complaining of the lights quality but most are from people who do not own the light just remember it is what it is a entry level light at a fair price that works vary well. Hope this helps

 

[ganjazz]

Under 2pcs 60x5w. Got those from amazon 1.5 month ago(before under 150w reflector).

 

[Mars Hydro]

so much attracting...

Getting there

Couple more days

 

[db003]

ok I got one for you my fellow mars hydro growers I was thinking about switching out the fans on my mars II 700

I have heard of people switching them out to cut down on the noise but I don't care about noise I want to put some more powerful fans so the light stays cooler and in turn keeps the tent cooler has anyone do something like this and if so what did you have to do like what fans did you use and stuff like that

I need more power!

 

[Kriaze]

ok I got one for you my fellow mars hydro growers I was thinking about switching out the fans on my mars II 700

I have heard of people switching them out to cut down on the noise but I don't care about noise I want to put some more powerful fans so the light stays cooler and in turn keeps the tent cooler has anyone do something like this and if so what did you have to do like what fans did you use and stuff like that

I need more power!

I've not been inside the lights myself but I've seen them apart and also read a thread about them, I believe they are 120mm PC case fans. You could upgrade these to better ones quite cheaply if that's the case.

Here's a link to the thread, someone has swapped theirs out already there

New Mars II LED 400W from TopLED

All the best.

 

[gudyul]

What Unc said " KeepItSimpleSara". By the way, Sara said that the new pro lights will run without remote option and has higher grade drivers. Question for Sara : THese new lights are Multiple Chips On Board with individually replaceable clusters? I assume better penetration with the Cree diodes? Is there a UTube video out yet fum MR. Colorada Finest? Thanks MH yur da best...

 

[nobodyuknow]

ok I got one for you my fellow mars hydro growers I was thinking about switching out the fans on my mars II 700

I have heard of people switching them out to cut down on the noise but I don't care about noise I want to put some more powerful fans so the light stays cooler and in turn keeps the tent cooler has anyone do something like this and if so what did you have to do like what fans did you use and stuff like that

I need more power!

I swapped mine out awhile back with the SilenX fans. I wanted mine to be more quiet though, in fact they are totally silent now and still blow out a lot of air. Mine are 400's, and it was very easy to swap them out. If you want more air flow, go somewhere like Newegg and get some fans that have a higher CFM.

 

[McCdive]

Don't mind me. I'm just gonna sit here and watch what goes on.

I have 3 Mars lights now. Two Reflector II series and one 1200wt custom flower only light. And a second 720wt on the way as we speak. So 2 -720s 1 -600 and the 1200 custom. I was a bit concerned when there was a discrepancy on the 3 or 5-watt postings on the Mars web page.
I have to say, Mars is a pretty good light, from what I've seen. I have 5 Platinum LED lights, but I just can't afford their big boy light prices. I have a grow with 600 watts of Mars on one side and 600 watts of Platinum LED on the other and I have to say, the Platinums are, in my opinion, a better light. Not a fair statement, if I don't have the best Mars has to offer to compare by, but that's what I've found.

So that's it. I'm on board here.

 

[Mars Hydro]

WOW Uncle, thanks for the comments! I have to commit, you have a talent of eloquence. If only I had that talent. anyway, thanks for all the advices. They are very good.I will add some points.
1. Mars Pro does not only differ from Sun Series in chips and the intelligent functions. Let's put CREE chips aside for a while.
Firstly, Mars Pro( Epistar) uses 5w chips while Sun series uses 3w chips.
Secondly, Mars Pro has better soldering method than Sun series. They just look similar. The inside of the cob of Sun Series is smooth. The cob of Mars Pro thus has been updated to be ragged and uneven inside surface, so as to mix the spectrum better.
2. As for the reason of disappointing sales of Sun series, we also have analyzed it. It's obviously not due to the video of CO Finest. It's not about marketing. We need to find the cause from our own. The small beam angle of Sun series determines the narrow range of the coverage. Customer find it need more lights to cover the area and will end up spending more than other series. Mars Pro has wider beam angle and bigger coverage. Thus, with the other shortages above, it needs to be updated.
3. The video of Mars Pro with remote control by CO Finest is for the test and advices. As you have mentioned and shown in the video, the remote control needs to be improved. Many people later have given feedbacks to us. We have taken them all and now re-designed the light to be more user-friendly.

Sara,
I understand the part about keeping pace with technology and have no issues with an upgrade such as using an upgraded brand diode (CREE vs Epistar) as long as something like this can be offered at a good price point.
If your executives were to do a bit of market research with your current customer base I think that they would find that your existing customer base as well as most future potential customers are looking for the following:
1. A reliable light that provides good results at a good price point.
2. A no frills light without a lot of fancy features that would drive up the price but provide very limited benefit to their grow.
3. A light that is as light weight as possible without useless features that would increase the weight.
4. A light that offers good PAR values.
5. A locally mounted on/off power switch.
6. A female and male power socket to allow daisy chaining of more than one light.
7. An effective light spread that matches the dimensions of the most common grow tent sizes on the market (3'x3', 4'x4', etc..).
8. Good cooling system to keep tent temps down.

Here are my unfiltered thoughts regarding some of the upgrades to the Sun Series.
Humidity and temp sensors -
I want to know temp and humidity at the canopy of my plants, not at the light which will be at least 18" away. I would not trust that the temp or humidity would be accurate since the sensor(s) would likely be reading lamp inlet or exhaust air temp and humidity and not true tent temps and humidity where it matters most, at the plant area.

Remote Control -
One look at the youtube video showing Co'sFinest fumbling around with that remote with the buttons all configured backwards should clearly explain why I do not want a light with a remote control.
Due to the youtube video your sales volume may already be doomed. I for one do not want any part of this remote control stuff.

Custom Light Spectrum Adjustment -
Your typical customer is not knowledgeable enough about how light spectrums effect plant growth to get any benefit from this feature. In fact this feature will likely be the root cause of some botched grow attempts which could cause some first time growers to give up and never try their hand at growing again.
Give your customers a good standard flowering light spectrum that is proven to work.

At risk of ruffling a few feathers I'm going to give you my thoughts about the dismal sales numbers for the Sun Series.
The light is designed for a 36"x36" area but the youtube video test grow that was posted by CO's Finest was done with a 5'x5' scrog with the light set higher than than recommended to accommodate for the large SCROG net.
In addition, he added another light to supplement the red color spectrum. More red spectrum was added before the light was officially introduced but the seeds of concern were well planted with that youtube video. I for one almost didn't purchase the Sun Series because of that video. It was only because of your insistence that the problem was remedied that I agreed to purchase my lights.

When most folks see a video of a test grow that results in lots of larfy buds and lack of red light spectrum which cause problems with trich development they will assume that the light is not effective, hence lack of sales.
Not to diss on Co Finest as he is a very experienced grower with mad grow skills and in the video he did explain his reasons for using a larger scrog and about the light distance and all but IMHO he should test your lights based on their design.
In addition, you may consider not allowing testers to post videos of test grows with R&D lights that are not yet perfected. Like I mentioned earlier, that video was a real turn off for me and almost prevented me from giving the Sun Series a try.

Apologies for the rant and the negative vibes about your new Sun Series Pro offering. Please ask that your management reconsider their decision to phase out the Sun Series. The Sun Series is an awesome light and at $360 USD was being offered at a good price point. Surely sales would have improved given enough time for first time users of this light to post some successful grows to counter the current youtube video that was done with the R&D light with lack of red spectrum.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Uncle, I am really sorry about this. maybe it's possible.

Sara,
Will the new Sun Series Pro LED's be phased out within 4 months after being offered like the original Sun Series?

I hope that that offering a new model light then phasing it out of production 4 months later with a new and improved model to replace it is not your management teams idea of keeping up with technology. If it is you may want to inform them that this is a big time turn off for customers.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hello arellanobrian, beautiful buds! Haha, Sun series again, why you guys don't give him a peek when he is there...

Hello Mars hydro family, here is my weekly update of the grow under the mars reflector 144x5! and im sorry to here the sun series is no longer being made as i was very interested in trying one of the lights. sara if you do have any of them left please PM me!

and also the weekly video if you guys wanna get a better look at what's going on with the grow!

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hi Celt, the remote control does not test the humidity and temp of the light. Inside the remote control, there is the censor to test the humidity and temp around the remote control. For example, if you want to test the humidity/temp at the canopy, just put the controller close to the canopy and it will show the temp/humidity. Even when the light is our, the remote control can also work. The only problem is that it can not test the canopy and the root at the same time.
Right now, as the shipping is from China and the production is small, the price is more. In the future, when there is more production, we plan to sock them at the warehouse. Then the overall cost will be reduced a lot.

Morning Sara

I must say that in some ways I have to agree with UncleCannabis. The location of temp/humidity sensors is of concern. Temp/humidity can vary quite a bit between the floor and the light. Temp/humidity at the canopy and below the canopy are of more concern to us as growers as this is where problems can occur that will affect our plants. I use remote sensors so I can check on the girls during lights out, but they are place at canopy height and a second one sitting on the soil.

Having a "PRO" series is great for professional growers and those with extra money to spend on new technology who want to experiment with different light settings etc, but for the average grower who grows for there own use or for a few friends (which most of us are) you should retain a base model (Sun Series) without all the bells and whistles that is affordable to the average grower.

 

[Mars Hydro]

thanks, plugged. Maybe you will like it when you use it...

I also agree a remote control is very near useless to most of us. UncleCannabis is right about the important features IMHO

 

[Mars Hydro]

Haha, thanks tucker. I love your comments, very useful and practical. The little give-aways are really sweet. We will consider it. every period of time, we actually gave away free lights

Sara, I also agree with UncleCannabis. Trendy features that offer nothing to the grower are useless features that drive up the price. I've wasted a lot of growing time using the veg setting on the reflector series. Questions about this to other growers using the same light resulted in a unanimous answer;everyone is using the veg & bloom settings simultaneously during the veg cycle. Why wouldn't your tech folks figure that out for themselves before introducing the light to the market and save the money on an additional switching mechanism? What would really raise some eyebrows is perhaps throwing in a set of YoYo's with each light. No R&D involved, no testing to do, no market analysis. Things like that would set Mars way above their competitors and would certainly increase sales. People love the little give-aways and for an investment of say...$6.00, you would reap much more in rewards. And that is something everyone NEEDS with their light. It's like trying to sell a car without tires. The money saved from that remote control and all the sensors would surely pay for the yoyo's.
Please don't think negative about all this constructive criticism. In fact, you should feel privileged to receive both good and bad feedback. These are real life conditions from real growers not a lab in a controlled environment. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to offer our comments.

 

[Mars Hydro]

haha, Kriaze, I want to... The Mars Pro worth $1000+ is for CREE256LED. CREE chip has higher quality than Epistar and cost more. For the Mars Pro Epistar160LED, it draws more than Sun Series. With the added function, the price for it is 467.99USD including Shipping from China to UK. We are keen on providing affordable price for the customers.

I agree with UncleCannabis here Sara. I originally applied to be a tester of the Sun Series as I liked the look of what I saw and I thought that it would be along the same pricing range as your Mars II series. If I had known that they were available at $360 I would have just bought a couple (there wasn't even a pricing option for the UK just a "coming soon" ). I've been watching UncleCannabis' grow with interest and have been waiting patiently for their release.
Now the new light is being released and I'm underwhelmed with both the features and the price point, you could be missing some sales here. I've been very impressed with the Mars II series, not so much so with the Reflectors although I know that a lot of other people love theirs. To me the Sun Series would have filled that gap and I could have done away with my Reflectors on their release but I just can't justify the outlay prices for the new Pro Series. I'm sure some people will, but around $1000 buys me two more Mars II rather than one new light with a remote control.
Maybe you could consider bringing the Sun Series back (if they're at $360 you could just take my money NOW ) for the people that want to buy in at a more reasonable price range and keep the Mars Pro series for those that need/want the extra features and are prepared to spend more. This way you keep customers like me that want to try a decent LED that works for a great price as well as expanding your sales base to the premium users.

I wish you all the best whichever choices you make with your business, but please don't let the idea of making the light that can do everything detract from the fact that there are still a lot of people that want a good solid basic product for not too much of an initial cost. Seriously, if you have any of the Sun Series lying around send them my way, at $360 apiece you have my attention. All the best

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hi aphrodisia, the draw power of MarsII700w is 300~380w. I suppose more watt will not hurt.

Im now thinking and planning for my next grow as I want to try out the Mars II 700w and see how it performs, and its going to be strictly an LED grow with no other light source, but I have a bit of a dilemma here. I want to see how the Mars performs but my dilemma is whether or not to also put in my Vipar V300 (actual draw 180w) LED in there for the flowering stage. I know the Mars purists will probably wag a disapproving finger but at the end of the day more light means more buds. Hmm, tricky, tricky.

 

[Mars Hydro]

good advice! thank you, super~~

I don't think you would hurt anybody's feelings by adding the other light. If your goal is the best harvest then add the other light. Obviously, if you are trying to compare then you don't want to do that.